Balaam

Balaam is one interesting character. There is no way he wanted to disobey God directly but he was willing to have other people disobey God so that he could get money. Greed is an awful vice. It makes people do things that they know are wrong. Balaam wanted riches more than he wanted God. Are we any different?

Seducers

"With eyes full of adultery, they never stop sinning; they seduce the unstable; they are experts in greed—an accursed brood!" 2 Peter 2:14
We had a pastor one time in a former church we attended that when my wife met him she felt very uncomfortable. She felt that he was undressing every woman he met with his eyes. After a short time it was revealed that he had left his former church because he was having an affair with one of the women of the church.
Peter says that these false teachers look upon every woman as a possible adulteress. This was the way this pastor was.

Brute animals

Peter compares false teachers to brute animals. They love the thrill and confuse the thrill with the presence of the Holy Spirit. Now I know that the Holy Spirit is not bound by man made rules but I also know that He works more often in the quietness of the moment than in the radical displays.
The Lakewood Florida revival is an example of this. Todd Bentley did some bizarre things that he claimed were the action of the Holy Spirit. He kicked people and used inappropriate language. Somehow I cannot contribute that the Comforter, the One who comes alongside. Maybe there are times that He will shake us out of our comfort zone but to claim that this is a manifestation of the working of the Spirit seems out of line with Scripture.
Why is it that those who get caught up in the wildness regard the orthodox as devoid of the Spirit? We can quench the Spirit when we deny the wild fire but we can also quench the Spirit when we say He must act in a certain way.

Why I blog

Someone asked me it anyone read my blog. I know that there are people who do and I have appreciated all the comments even those that I don't agree with or don't agree with me. It makes me take a good look at why I believe what I believe. However, the main reason I blog is one of the lessons I learned from 2 Peter as he used Noah as an illustration. Noah was kept pure in a time of ignorance and apathy because he continue to proclaim the truth. I will proclaim the truth so that I will not be led astray. Noah may not have had any converts but he remained faithful.

A Riddle

My father often gave us riddles that related to the Bible. Here is one. If you know the answer please post it and I am sure there is a wonderful prize for the first to post the answer.

I walked on earth,
I talked on earth,
Convicting men of sin.
I am not on earth
Or in heaven or hell
Or likely to enter in.

Prepared soil

I live in a very fertile area of the country. In a few weeks the farmers will be out preparing the soil for planting. What would happen if the soil was prepared but nothing was planted? Surely something would grow. However, I am sure it would not be what the farmer wanted.
Today as we worked through 2 Peter 2:4 - 11 I learned something about false teachers. They look for soil that is ready for their teaching. Do the people have a disobedient rebellious heart? Are they ignorant and apathetic? Are they look for ease, affluence and pleasure? When they find such soils they are ready to plant their false seeds. Our hearts are like soil and we must guard that soil so that the seeds of righteousness and truth may be planted.

Trading our tomorrows

The third example that Peter uses is the people of Sodom and Gomorrah. "He condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah by burning them to ashes, and made them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly." 2 Peter 2:6
The people of Sodom and Gomorrah were soft, affluent and immoral. They wanted the pleasures of the day at the expense of their future. There were false teachers in Peter's day and there are false teachers in our day who live in luxury and even fall into immorality because they have taught that God wants us to be happy rather than to be holy.